The Devil, Abiaka: The Legacy of Sam Jones
This week, join us to learn about the life and legend of Abiaka. Also known as Abiaki, Arapeika/Aripika, Sam Jones, or just “The Devil,” Abiaka was a fierce Seminole wartime leader, medicine man, and spy.
Seminole Music, Language, and Legacy
Even before the modern rock empire of the Seminole Hard Rock, music has been closely tied to Seminole culture, identity, and history. Seminoles use music for social, political, and educational purposes. Significantly, they pass down stories, legends, and even language through song. This week, we are exploring the legacy of Seminole music, and how it has shifted and changed over time. Additionally, at the end of the post, we will look at a handful of modern Seminole artists, and current Seminole representation in music. Above, you can see Dr. Judy Ann Osceola, Pauline (nee Jumper, married name unknown), Judy Baker, Mary Louise Johns (nee Jumper), Priscilla Sayen, and Judy Bill Osceola (with guitar). Occasionally, the women were asked to sing at events as a show of support for the newly formed government of the Seminole Tribe of Florida in the late 1950s. Seminole Music In our featured image this week, you can see
A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith
Welcome to our Summer Book Series 2023! This week, join us to explore the sweeping historical fiction novel A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith. The novel heavily features Seminole history and representation throughout the book, and showcases the determination and resilience required to live in a changing Florida.
Seminole Spaces: Trading Posts
This week, we are exploring a unique type of Seminole space; trading posts. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Seminoles utilized trading posts as points of contact with non-Seminole traders.
Seminole Economic Resilience in the 1960s
This week, we look at Seminole tourism in the 1960s. Coming directly on the heels of federal recognition, this decade was marked by struggle and innovation, as the Seminole Tribe of Florida cemented its agency as a sovereign entity.
Federal Recognition in the 1950s
This week, join us to explore the 1950s, and how the federal recognition of the Seminole tribe of Florida would shape Seminole agency and power from then on.
50th Anniversary Seminole Tribal Fair & Pow Wow
It’s time for Tribal Fair! This week, join us to learn about the 50th Anniversary Seminole Tribal Fair & Pow Wow. Held February 10-12th, 2023 at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, FL.
Seminole Spaces: Okalee Indian Village
This week, join us to take a closer look at the Seminole Okalee Indian Village, which opened in the late 1950s on the Hollywood (Dania) Reservation.
Tom Tiger’s Camp: The First Seminole Tourism Enterprise
Welcome to the first of a brand-new blog series; decades of Seminole tourism! This week, look back to the early 1900s. Captain Tom Tiger started and ran the first Seminole tourism enterprise in 1904. Although short lived, it would signal a long-lasting relationship between Seminoles and Florida Tourism.
Seminole Tribe: Prosperity Out of the Florida Everglades
There is a wild, thriving ecosystem quietly booming in southern Florida today. It is the Florida Everglades, and it is abundant, peaceful and all natural. A beautiful variety of plant, animal, and insect species thrive off of the land and each other, working in perfect harmony to sustain life. Also inhabiting the land are the hard-working, resilient people, known as the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Out of the Florida Everglades they have built an entire community, filled with unique arts, foods, businesses, and a culture entirely their own. Their success today is an accumulation of hardship, survival and strength on their eventual road to prosperity. Adversity Could Not Stop the Seminoles Long before the Seminole Tribe of Florida began to flourish, they would first overcome an incredible amount of adversity. Once peacefully subsisting, the Seminoles saw significant population decline when the English invaded in the 17th and 18th centuries, bringing with them